BANGKOK – Thailand’s Public Health Ministry plans to ask a Thai court to lift a temporary stay on a requirement that tobacco companies cover 85% of their cigarette packs with graphic warnings, which would result in the Southeast Asian country having the largest such warnings in the world.

Associated Press

Cigarette packages are displayed for sale at a shop last month in Bangkok.

Nopporn Chuenklin, deputy director of the ministry’s Disease Control Department, said the ministry is planning to lodge an appeal on Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest.

The health ministry set a deadline for the new rules for cigarette packs to go into effect on Oct. 2. However, a Thai court granted tobacco giant Philip Morris and two other companies a temporary stay late last month after they argued that the ministry “acted beyond its legal powers” and that the rule would hurt the Thai tobacco industry.

Advertisement

Mr. Nopporn said in an interview Monday that the government will contend that “the new requirement won’t create any excessive burden or damage to tobacco companies.”

Philip Morris (Thailand) Ltd. said on Monday it had no comment.

In a statement issued last month, Philip Morris said the ministry failed to consult with impacted stakeholders and that the measure will impair the ability of tobacco manufacturers to display their trademarks properly.

“Today’s decision now clears the way for us to show the court that this measure is not only illegal but also unnecessary given that the health risks of smoking are universally known in Thailand,” the statement said.

Mahidol University’s Tobacco Research Center and Knowledge Management Center estimated that the tobacco industry contributed to 0.52% of the country’s GDP in 2009, the most updated report available. The economic losses from diseases attributed to smoking accounts for 0.5% of the country’s GDP.

Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM), a state enterprise that manufactures and distributes tobacco products, owned 67% of the market share as of 2008, according to the study. Philip Morris has 27% of market share, the highest among foreign tobacco companies, and the share is projected to rise. Top three tobacco companies – TTM, Philip Morris and British American Tobacco – employ in total about 4,500 workers.

Currently, graphic warnings cover 55% of cigarette packs in Thailand. If the health ministry wins, Thailand would top Australia, which requires that warnings cover 82.5% of cigarette packages.

In the U.S., the Tobacco Control Act 2009 required that graphic warnings cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs and 20% of cigarette ads. But a Federal Court of Appeals in 2012 struck down the mandate given to the Food and Drug Administration, saying the requirements violated free speech protections.

The litigation between the Thai government and Philip Morris highlights an attempt by tobacco giants to challenge public policy to discourage smoking in Asia, one of the fastest growing tobacco markets in the world, said Bungon Ritthiphakdee, director of Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, a Bangkok-based advocacy group promoting tobacco-control policies.

“Tobacco companies will fight a long battle to prevent other countries from following the Thai government’s initiative on this,” Ms. Bungon said in a telephone interview. “We believe that once this measure becomes effective, it will have a big impact on their sales.”

As of 2011, 11.5 million Thais were smokers, or about 18% of Thailand’s total population of 65 million, based on the study by Mahidol University’s tobacco research center. About 50,000 Thais died of smoking-related diseases each year, according to the country’s Statistics Bureau.

In 2011, smoking prevalence has increased for the first time after it had declined over the last two decades, according to the study. The number of occasional smokers has also steadily gone up.

“Each intervention measure is usually the most effective in the first six months after its launch. That’s why it’s necessary to introduce new intervention plan,” said Siriwan Pitayarangsarit, director of the Tobacco Research Center and Knowledge Management Center.

The Thai Public Health Ministry said it will ask the court to allow tobacco companies to use a set of 10 new graphic warnings by its deadline next month, and also to allow the enlargement of the warning to cover 85% of a cigarette pack.

“According to the [World Health Organization’s] recommendation, we should change graphic warnings every two to three years to make them effective, and printing isn’t going cost that much,” Mr. Nopporn said.

Mr. Nopporn said at least seven tobacco companies have already complied with the ministry’s new requirement and printed larger graphic warnings for cigarette packs. The court’s injunction, if not lifted, will cause damage to those companies, he said.

“We still want to keep reminding them of the dangers,” Mr. Nopporn said. “A cigarette isn’t a beautiful thing and we want to send out exactly that message to discourage any trying to sharing.”

About Southeast Asia Real Time

Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

Jakarta residents share their views on how Gov. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has been running Jakarta and whether they're worried about plans by city council to investigate his handling of this year's budget.